10 Random Thoughts: Pacific Northwest Edition

I just got back from a trip up the Western Coast of our country last night and I wanted to share a few thoughts that pertain to CRE (and some that don’t):

1. Anyone who is a fan of building or architecture should visit Hearst Castle at least once.

2. The terrain in Northern California and Oregon is unlike anything I have ever seen. Beautiful.

3. Speaking of which, there really is nothing significant, in terms on cities, between Napa and Eugene. Eureka, CA is decent, but I didn’t see a reason to spend more than a night there.

4. Having now ridden light rail in Phoenix and Portland, I’m not sure it is the perfect solution for our fair city. It is convenient and nice, but it certainly adds frustrating traffic on busy streets. Does that outweigh the traffic it prevents? Maybe. I’m not sure. That’s why I say that I’m not convinced that light rail on Peachtree is the silver bullet people seem to think it is.

5. I don’t think Russell Brand is an actor. I think he is just Russell Brand and directors film him saying stuff as Russell Brand within the context of their story.

6. Portland has to have the most tattoos per capita of any city I have seen. Probably 4 of 5 people had ink and 3 of 5 had non-ear piercings. Not a judgement. Just an observation.

7. Powell’s in Portland is incredible. Do not leave that city without visiting Powell’s.

8. I hope our downtown turns into a place to hang out some day. It was very convenient to walk around downtown Santa Barbara, San Francisco, and Portland with great restaurants and attractions within a couple blocks of each other.

9. Next time you visit San Francisco and don’t want to stay downtown, I recommend Cavallo Point. It is literally just below the Golden Gate Bridge in Sausalito.

10. I have found a hotel that I would like to buy one day. It is called River Place and if I had a fund behind me, I would call the owner today.

That’s it for right now. I will have an article on entrepreneurship in CRE later this week.